Professional and Personal Experiences and Perceived Facilitator Effectiveness

Abstract

This study analyzes the relationship between facilitator effectiveness ratings and several facilitator characteristics. Characteristics include professional and personal experiences as well as demographics. Participants attended Smart Steps, a relationship education course for stepfamilies, which was offered through community agencies. There were 858 participants with an overrepresentation of low-income and Latino participants. Facilitators who had specific training in Smart Steps and facilitators who had stepchildren of their own had higher effectiveness ratings. A regression model identified that both of these variables along with being female were significantly associated with higher effectiveness ratings as reported by the participants.

How Does Couple and Relationship Education Affect Relationship Hope? An Intervention‐Process Study with Lower Income Couples

“…The CRE field has a modest record of examining pedagogical and programmatic processes that facilitate positive change in outcomes (Allgood & Higginbotham, ; Bradford, Adler‐Baeder, Ketring, & Smith, ; Carlson, Barden, Daire, & Swartz, ; Higginbotham & Myler, ; Owen, Antle, & Barbee, ; Owen, Rhoades, Stanley, & Markman, ; Quirk, Owen, Inch, France, & Bergen, ). Also, several studies have found that program effects are moderated by baseline levels of individual and dyadic risk and distress, with greater risk and distress generally predicting greater improvement in intervention outcomes (Allen, Rhoades, Stanley, Loew, & Markman, ; Amato, ; Barton, Futris, & Bradley, ; Bodenmann, Hilpert, Nussbeck, & Bradbury, ; Carlson, Rappleyea, Daire, Harris, & Liu, ; DuPree, Whiting, & Harris, ; Epstein et al, ; Halford et al, ; Halford, Sanders, & Behrens, ; Hawkins & Erickson, ; McGill et al, ; Quirk, Strokoff, Owen, France, & Bergen, ; Schilling, Baucom, Burnett, Allen, & Ragland, ; Williamson et al, ).…”